Quarterly new home closings increased 46 percent annually and jumped over Q2 closings by 19 percent.

A shift occurred in the Atlanta new home market in early 2013, with most homes that started out the construction process as a “spec” ending up “under contract” with a buyer well before the home was completed, Metrostudy noted.

Low availability of homes of any sort that are “for sale” is a key factor. The months supply for used homes now stands at around four months and for finished new homes it is 2.3 months — the lowest it’s been in well over a decade.

“My forecast is housing starts will increase in 2014, but metro Atlanta will continue to experience a shortage of homes,” said Eugene James, regional director for Metrostudy.